Police hunt at least 30 suspects after 51 Putco buses are torched

A Putco worker is in critical condition after the company’s Thabana, Moloto and Maphotla depots in Mpumalanga were stormed in coordinated attacks on Tuesday, 28 January and 51 buses were set alight.

“Two Putco employees were attacked and one is in a critical condition in hospital. There were no injuries as a result of the fire. We appeal for patience as our operations team is considering ways to avoid a prolonged inconvenience to commuters,” said the bus company.

Putco said about 15 suspects, clad in black clothes and balaclavas, stormed the Moloto bus depot in KwaMhlanga and held employees at gunpoint. They shot and injured a security guard before setting fire to 16 buses.

At  Maphotla in Siyabuswa, about 10 suspects attacked and assaulted a security guard and then set 18 buses alight. The security guard was taken to hospital for treatment.

At Thabana, also in Siyabuswa, about 10 suspects stormed the depot and set fire to 17 buses.

Only two of the dozens of suspects have been arrested.

The police said they were investigating charges including malicious damage to property, attempted murder and assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. They said the motive for the burning of the buses was not yet known.

Putco said the buses were equipped with cameras to increase security for commuters and staff.  The cameras were destroyed in the fires.

The bus company said it would not speculate about who was responsible for the attack, but neither would it rule out the possibility of involvement of the taxi industry. The taxi industry has had numerous run-ins with bus companies.

In 2015, four people were injured when a Putco bus was shot at in an incident which was suspected to have been orchestrated by taxi industry players.

At the heart of that conflict were the highly profitable routes out of Mamelodi which the Gauteng provincial government awarded to Autopax, a government bus service agency.

Backup buses

Putco spokesperson Lindokuhle Xulu said the company would bring in backup buses from Soweto and Soshanguve to restore services within 48 hours.

“Our services continue this morning and passengers are utilising connecting buses from our exchange points in order to get to their destinations,” said Xulu.   

The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Transport urged the bus company to determine who was behind “this heinous crime” against all South Africans.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and her deputy, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, called the arson an “act of aggression” and said the buses played a key role in transporting hundreds of thousands of people.

ActionSA called for increased accountability and improved law enforcement efforts to protect critical infrastructure.

“This shocking act of destruction has severely disrupted the lives of thousands of hardworking South Africans who rely on public transport for their livelihoods,” said the party. DM